Brazil's Oil, Natural Gas Output Rebounds in October: ANP

The FPSO Pioneiro de Libra has installed capacity to pump about 50,000 b/d during the test. Mero produced 42,861 b/d and 2.98 million cu m/d in October, according to the ANP.

SEATTLE (Oil Monster):  Brazil's crude oil and natural gas production bounced back in October, as a long-term well test at the Mero Field was restarted, but output remained below the record levels seen in August, the country's National Petroleum Agency, or ANP, said Monday.

Oil companies operating in Brazil pumped an average of 2.964 million b/d of oil and condensate in October, an increase of 1.3% from 2.927 million b/d in September, the ANP said. October's production was also up a more-robust 13.4% from 2.614 million b/d in October 2018, the ANP said.

October's advance was attributed to the restart of a long-term well test at the Mero production-sharing field in Brazil's subsalt region, the ANP data showed. Brazilian state-led oil company Petrobras and its partners developing the field shut down the FPSO Pioneiro de Libra floating production, storage and offloading vessel in September to connect a different well to the production unit as part of ongoing reservoir tests at the field.

The FPSO Pioneiro de Libra has installed capacity to pump about 50,000 b/d during the test. Mero produced 42,861 b/d and 2.98 million cu m/d in October, according to the ANP.

Mero is part of the Libra production-sharing area, which was the first subsalt field sold under the regulatory regime in 2013. Petrobras owns a 40% operating stake in the field, with Shell and France's Total each retaining 20% minority stakes. China's CNPC and CNOOC also each hold 10% shares.

Output from Brazil's subsalt region has surged in recent months as Petrobras and its partners ramp up production from an unprecedented eight new FPSOs installed since early 2018. Each of the new FPSOs has installed capacity to produce at least 150,000 b/d and process up to 6 million cu m/d, according to Petrobras. Additional growth is expected through the end of 2019 as new wells are connected to the installed FPSOs, including the FPSO P-68 that pumped first oil from the Berbigao Field in the transfer-of-rights area in early November.

The new FPSOs pushed Brazil's oil output to a record 2.989 million b/d in August, according to the ANP.

Carlos Alberto Pereira de Oliveira, who is Petrobras' director for exploration and production, said in late October that Petrobras expects production to average about 2.9 million b/d of oil equivalent through the end of 2019 and into early 2020.

Courtesy: www.spglobal.com